from what Bob and Candy said is way nicer than your crappy apartment. I suspect it’s also cleaner, but not clean enough.”
He guessed they weren’t going to talk about the wild sex last night, his subject of choice. “How about you stand there looking pretty and hold the bag open wide with both hands and I’ll be in charge of tossing.” He winked at her again, since it worked so well the first time.
“Sounds like a man,” she mumbled. “Always tossing.”
“Ah.” Rick pointed his finger at her. Her mind worked like a steel trap, missing nothing. Her wit and cynicism hit quick as a lightning bolt. But way more painful, and she almost always struck twice. “Careful now. Lighten up on the man jokes.”
She shook her head. “What have you done to my kid?”
He assessed the baby in his arms. “Why? What do you mean?”
“Those are the clothes she’s outgrown.” She let out an exaggerated sigh, denoting her annoyance with him. “I boxed them up to get rid of them.”
“Outgrown? She’s not big enough to have outgrown anything,” he protested, although he had dressed her like a refugee. Nothing matched and on closer inspection, nothing fit. Probably the reason dressing her had been such a challenge.
“Picture her coming out of here.” She pointed in the general direction of her vagina. Abandoning the trash bag, she stepped closer and held her arms out to rescue her daughter from becoming a fashion victim, or worse. “When are your out-of-town guests coming?”
“This afternoon.” He handed Coral over. A chill filled the warm spot she’d occupied. Stale beer smell replaced the scent of baby lotion. “We’re meeting them at their hotel for drinks at six, if that’s okay with you.” He wasn’t sure what he’d do if it wasn’t okay with her. Nothing, probably. Clearly she was going to lead him around like a dog on a leash, occasionally tossing him a treat. Works for me . That’s roughly how he imagined marriage worked.
“Six?” Her eyes narrowed and her brow knit together. “No one has drinks at six.”
“To be fair, to them it’s more like nine.” To fill the void of silence, he added, “There’s a time difference between east and west coast.” His head bobbed left to right to emphasize his point.
Anger flashed in her eyes. “I understand the concept of time zones, Rick.”
Someone’s in a mood . He’d expected some sort of orgasm-induced euphoria lasting hours, if not days. He hoped the effect would have a crack-cocaine-like quality, bringing her back to his bed with increased frequency until she needed an intervention or vaginal rejuvenation.
Jade kissed the top of Coral’s head before placing her in her wind-up swing. “Quick clean up, and then I need to nurse her before we go to your hair appointment.”
He knitted his brows together. “Hair appointment?”
“You look positively rural, Rick.” She eyeballed him head to toe. “I can’t have it.”
“Didn’t bother you last night.” He hated the hurt in his voice, not to mention the bruise to his ego. It was high school all over again. Girls don’t make passes at guys who wear glasses . Thank God for contacts. Not even contacts lenses could have gotten him a date with the likes of her in high school. She wouldn’t have even let him steal a kiss in elementary school.
“It was dark last night,” she shot back at him.
Zap! He clutched at his heart like she’d mortally wounded him. “I think I smell scorched flesh.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She returned to collecting garbage. “Listen, I don’t want to talk about last night. Got it?”
In his mind he heard the slamming of a heavy-duty door. Topic closed for discussion . “Are you kidding me? I knocked it out of the park last night.” He went so far as to mimic swinging at an invisible ball with his imaginary bat. “It’s all I want to talk about.” With her. With Bob. With total strangers. “Besides, you started
He guessed they weren’t going to talk about the wild sex last night, his subject of choice. “How about you stand there looking pretty and hold the bag open wide with both hands and I’ll be in charge of tossing.” He winked at her again, since it worked so well the first time.
“Sounds like a man,” she mumbled. “Always tossing.”
“Ah.” Rick pointed his finger at her. Her mind worked like a steel trap, missing nothing. Her wit and cynicism hit quick as a lightning bolt. But way more painful, and she almost always struck twice. “Careful now. Lighten up on the man jokes.”
She shook her head. “What have you done to my kid?”
He assessed the baby in his arms. “Why? What do you mean?”
“Those are the clothes she’s outgrown.” She let out an exaggerated sigh, denoting her annoyance with him. “I boxed them up to get rid of them.”
“Outgrown? She’s not big enough to have outgrown anything,” he protested, although he had dressed her like a refugee. Nothing matched and on closer inspection, nothing fit. Probably the reason dressing her had been such a challenge.
“Picture her coming out of here.” She pointed in the general direction of her vagina. Abandoning the trash bag, she stepped closer and held her arms out to rescue her daughter from becoming a fashion victim, or worse. “When are your out-of-town guests coming?”
“This afternoon.” He handed Coral over. A chill filled the warm spot she’d occupied. Stale beer smell replaced the scent of baby lotion. “We’re meeting them at their hotel for drinks at six, if that’s okay with you.” He wasn’t sure what he’d do if it wasn’t okay with her. Nothing, probably. Clearly she was going to lead him around like a dog on a leash, occasionally tossing him a treat. Works for me . That’s roughly how he imagined marriage worked.
“Six?” Her eyes narrowed and her brow knit together. “No one has drinks at six.”
“To be fair, to them it’s more like nine.” To fill the void of silence, he added, “There’s a time difference between east and west coast.” His head bobbed left to right to emphasize his point.
Anger flashed in her eyes. “I understand the concept of time zones, Rick.”
Someone’s in a mood . He’d expected some sort of orgasm-induced euphoria lasting hours, if not days. He hoped the effect would have a crack-cocaine-like quality, bringing her back to his bed with increased frequency until she needed an intervention or vaginal rejuvenation.
Jade kissed the top of Coral’s head before placing her in her wind-up swing. “Quick clean up, and then I need to nurse her before we go to your hair appointment.”
He knitted his brows together. “Hair appointment?”
“You look positively rural, Rick.” She eyeballed him head to toe. “I can’t have it.”
“Didn’t bother you last night.” He hated the hurt in his voice, not to mention the bruise to his ego. It was high school all over again. Girls don’t make passes at guys who wear glasses . Thank God for contacts. Not even contacts lenses could have gotten him a date with the likes of her in high school. She wouldn’t have even let him steal a kiss in elementary school.
“It was dark last night,” she shot back at him.
Zap! He clutched at his heart like she’d mortally wounded him. “I think I smell scorched flesh.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She returned to collecting garbage. “Listen, I don’t want to talk about last night. Got it?”
In his mind he heard the slamming of a heavy-duty door. Topic closed for discussion . “Are you kidding me? I knocked it out of the park last night.” He went so far as to mimic swinging at an invisible ball with his imaginary bat. “It’s all I want to talk about.” With her. With Bob. With total strangers. “Besides, you started
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